


The Wind in the Trees is our Love Song

by kokorokarisu



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: A kind of fantasy-esque AU I guess, I Don't Even Know, I have no clue what to call it, I suppose the closest thing to the world is like an RPG type thing, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Sorry, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2016-01-09
Packaged: 2018-05-08 06:58:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5487938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kokorokarisu/pseuds/kokorokarisu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tsukishima Kei has always lived an average and (in his opinion) dull life. Or has he? With the return of a childhood friend, erased memories are restored. Except for the small fact that Yamaguchi isn't your average childhood friend. He's not even human for crying out loud. Through various circumstances the two are thrown into the greatest adventure they could ever have hoped for, learning more about each other along the way and meeting many colourful characters. But when the journey's end comes, Tsukishima must make a choice. One that will change the rest of his life forever.</p><p>I can't summary I'm sorry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> Gahhhh right ok! I'm sorry if this chapter appears to drag on, it's more of a prologue to set up the story XD. Things will pick up when the actual plot starts, it should be pretty fun considering i don't goof up so maybe you'd like to join me? 
> 
> I'm sorry, that's cheesy.
> 
> Also, this will focus mainly on Tsukkiyama as the main characters, but a lot of familiar faces will be showing up along the way ^^

“Human souls are fickle things. Did you know that there’s a myth passed down about human souls? It says that each soul has its complimentary partner. But it’s also said that bringing two intertwined souls together, would take a miracle.”

“A miracle eh?”

“Aye.”

“What about the souls of the non-humans?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Ah. It’s nothing”

“I see. Well, until next time..”

———————

Sunlight streamed through the cracks in the curtains as Tsukishima groggily opened his eyes. With a sigh, he began to think to himself. How long had it been? Since that voice had begun appearing in his dreams? He really didn’t know.

Tsukishima ran a hand through his blonde hair as he slowly sat up. A lazy hand felt for his glasses on the bedside table and upon finding them, brought them to his face. What day was it again? In all honesty, he didn’t care. 

He got to his feet, moving to open the curtains but stopped himself halfway. Bright lights like that were a pain. They hurt his eyes when it was this early in the morning and who could be bothered with that? A buzz from his phone indicated a new text had been received, so Tsukishima opened up the messages, merely to check for anything important, it wasn’t as if he actually cared what most of the people who had wormed his number out of him actually had to say.

He blinked a few times until his vision came far enough into focus that he could actually read the letters.

“Tch,” he clicked his tongue in frustration. It was from that annoyingly energetic redhead who was a member of his university volleyball team. How Hinata had gotten his number, he would never know. The message was only reminding him of the team’s plans for Kageyama’s birthday party. An event he was most definitely planning on skipping.

He put the phone down again without bothering to reply and decided that now would be a good time for breakfast. If a slice of toast alone could really be called breakfast, that was.

Tsukishima’s apartment was hardly spacious. Fortunately rent was cheap, and it was located near his university. The interior was bland, the colour scheme mainly consisting of beiges, creams (that had most likely once been white) and murky greens. But he’d still done his best to brighten it with the odd poster and paintings. It worked somewhat, and sure managed to distract attention away from the growing black mould staining around half of his ceilings.

He had a love for paintings. He’d tried to learn to paint once, but he’d just never had the knack for it. His personal favourites were paintings that portrayed gardens long forgotten and overgrown by wildflowers or paintings that depicted hidden clearings in lush forests with such gentle care in every brush stroke. Tsukishima had never quite been able to place his finger on why he liked them so much. Maybe it was because they were so calming? No. It ran much deeper than that. But it was as if there was some kind of wall in his mind preventing him from remembering. In comparison to what else was going on in his life at that moment, it wasn’t a pressing issue, so he didn’t like to dwell on it.

After a brief interlude of making himself appear at least presentable, Tsukishima packed up his books and notes and left for his morning lecture. He was currently studying for a degree in planetary science. He had to admit that, although most things didn’t, the subject fascinated him. The vastness of the universe terrified some people, but to Tsukishima, it really was one of the few things he could speak passionately about. That didn’t mean it hadn’t been difficult to choose a course, as it had with his other option being palaeontology. But the planets and their infinite possibilities had won him over in the end.

———————

Almost immediately after stepping through the gates to the campus, a high-pitched, familiar voice called out his name, causing him to tense up. 

“Tsukishimaaaaaaaa!!”

The blonde clicked his tongue in annoyance as the ever excitable energy-ball that was Hinata sprinted over to him from god knows where. Had he been waiting by the gates for him to arrive or something? Geez…

“Good morning! Did you get my text?” Hinata beamed, interrupting his thoughts and coming to a stop next to Tsukishima who sighed inwardly. 

“I believe so” he said flatly, trying his very hardest to look disinterested. “But sadly, I’ll have to take a rain check. My parents are finally moving out of our old family home, I’ve to go help them pack up” he explained. 

Hinata’s face fell. “Aww… Everyone would really like you to come though… well, not really because you’re such a downer, but this was supposed to be a team thing” The shorter boy continued, tapping his foot impatiently as he spoke. 

“You sure do know how to flatter me Shorty, but having to put up with you and your boyfriend getting drunk again sounds like a nasty experience if you ask me” the taller of the two rolled his eyes and smirked as Hinata went red.

“That idiot? Nah h-he’s not my…” he redhead stammered, much to Tsukishima’s amusement. “Tell that to your red face” he snickered as Hinata glared at him. He looked about as threatening as a puppy. 

“Are you sure you can’t come?” He asked, clearly irritated now. The blonde resisted the urge to laugh and made sure to keep his voice bored and flat.

“As utterly crushed I as I feel to miss it, yes. But make sure to give the King my regards, as for now, I need to speak with my professor, I bid you adieu” Tsukishima continued monotone and, with a lazy salute, set off into the building. He’d just recovered from a nasty cold and as a result, had to hand his assignment in after the recommended due date. He liked being organised and having assignments in on the recommended date. It wasn’t the final deadline, but it irked him none-the-less. He supposed it couldn’t be helped.

As he reached the lecture hall, he breathed a very small sigh of relief upon seeing that his teacher was already there. 

“Ah.. Takeda-sensei?” he called and the bespectacled teacher looked up. “I’ve completed the assignment. Sorry I couldn’t hand it in earlier” the blonde explained, fishing out the paper from his book bag and handing it to him.

“Hm… but the final deadline isn’t for another week.. You don’t to push yourself, you were sick weren’t you? Please don’t feel the necessity to be early, especially when you’re sick” he frowned slightly before remembering what the next step of the process was. 

“Right, let me just log this” he moved over to the computer, scanning the paper for his name. “Tsukishima… Hotaru-kun was it?” 

“Kei. Tsukishima Kei” the blonde quickly cut in, trying to keep his tone from growing too sharp. It was hard to believe that even after all this time, Takeda-sensei was still forgetting his name; and he actually read it wrong too. It sure was irritating. He crushed the urge to click his tongue.

“Ah sorry, sorry” Takeda apologised quickly with a light-hearted laugh.

“So, are you feeling any better Tsukishima-kun?” he smiled. 

Tsukishima could only reply with a curt nod. Shouldn’t that be obvious? If he wasn’t feeling better, then he wouldn’t be here.

He quickly made his way to a seat near the back of the lecture hall as other students began to enter, preventing any chance of the conversation continuing. Takeda-sensei was so nice that it actually got on his nerves just a little. Not that he’d even admit something like that though. Takeda-sensei was a favourite among the students.

As the lecture got underway, he started taking notes. He enjoyed taking notes, it helped him feel that everything was in order, and the sound of is pencil gliding over the paper was oddly comforting. As he wrote, he noticed that the student in front of him was wearing a beanie decorated with alien badges, and that he was doodling little UFOs in the margin of his notebook. He resisted the sudden snicker that threatened to spill from his lips, did the guy really like aliens so much as to study planetary science? That couldn’t be why he’d chosen his degree could it?The idea was quite frankly hilarious. 

What little conscience Tsukishima had scolded him for being judgemental, but it wasn’t too hard to ignore. 

Now, Tsukishima was usually incredibly attentive; today for some reason, he was exhausted. As the lecture went on, he grew more and more drowsy. He could feel his limbs becoming heavy and his eyelids starting to droop. He was halfway through noting down something or other about lunar regolith when he found himself dozing off.

———————

“H-Hey! Are you ok?”

This voice was different than the usual one.

“Mm..”

A vivid scene flashed before his eyes. The colours so blindingly bright that they enveloped his very being. The pinks, whites and yellows of the flowers and the greens of the thick foliage and shrubbery. A strange feeling of melancholy set in as the scene faded.

“Do you remember? That place? M-me?” 

The voice faded as waves of consciousness began to ebb forth.

———————

Tsukishima woke up for the second time that morning. Only this time, to muffled chuckling somewhere behind him. He grumbled as he sat up straight again, inwardly cursing himself for falling asleep. He had to admit that the dreams were getting weirder. They felt more real, as if they weren’t just dreams and as if there may be some kind of reason for them. It was starting to freak him out just a little. There was a somehow a strange sense of comfort and familiarity in that voice, however. Why? The confusion made his head ache. How would he even get answers for something like this?

“Do I remember..? Remember what?” he mumbled.

The rest of the lecture passed by quickly, Tsukishima faithfully took notes, but was still completely lost in thought.

When the lecture was over at last, he left as quickly as possible, not wanting to give Takeda-sensei the opportunity to stop him and ask why he’d fallen asleep as he appeared to so clearly want to. He was fine. He didn’t need to be coddled. His pride wouldn’t allow it.

Tsukishima had the full intention of leaving the campus and heading straight home. He could marathon the Jurassic Park movies or maybe some documentaries all afternoon. After he’d eaten lunch of course.

He slipped his headphones over his ears as he walked, letting the music wash over and calm him. It was hard to keep track of anything anymore. The days seemed to flow and mesh together. Until now everything was just a boring routine. Wake up. Eat. Study. Eat. Lounge around. Eat. Like a code for some video game, precise and unchanging. Occasionally with volleyball practice thrown into the mix. He knew it was a life he should be thankful for. He had food, water, money, a roof over his head. It would be selfish to be dissatisfied wouldn’t it?

But somehow, he was. 

He assumed it was boredom. Repeating the same thing over and over could get pretty tiring right? 

Tsukishima let out a sigh. He felt utterly deflated.

Subconsciously, he’d walked until he’d reached the park. Despite the urban city feel of the town, the park was the place where one could feel closest to nature. The atmosphere was incredibly relaxing and the pond shimmered in the midday sunlight which still shone despite the air’s chill.

The blonde began to feel soothed. This place always seemed to manage it. Lazily, he fell backwards onto a park bench, sitting his book bag beside him. 

The trees had lost their leaves by this point, and what few birds remained were singing away diligently, without a care in the world. People passed, their words catching as small clouds in the air while they laughed and joked. A group of highschoolers. An elderly couple. Then a pair of new parents pushing their baby along in its stroller, all while sharing the same gleeful and proud smile. 

It was so peaceful. 

People-watching had always been intriguing to Tsukishima. He liked to study others, wonder about their lives, wonder what their connection to the other by their side was. Wondering what their relationship was like; wondering what it might be like to have a relationship like that. But he wasn’t jealous. No, it was curiosity. That was all. Having someone depend on you like that all the time must be exhausting. It sounded like a pain, if he was being totally honest.

It was at this point that his phone rang. Reluctantly, Tsukishima pulled his headphones down to rest at his neck and answered after reading that the call was from Daichi, the captain of his volleyball team. 

“Yes?” He asked, trying not to sound too annoyed that the gentle atmosphere had been broken.

“Tsukishima-kun? I’m just calling to ask if you’re alright? You’ve been really out of it for a while, and then you refused to come to the party… I just felt like I should check up on you” Daichi laughed from the other end, his voice full of warmth.

“I’m fine, Daichi-san. I’ve just been ill and really busy with an assignment” Tsukishima explained as if it really should’ve been obvious and Daichi really shouldn’t have needed to call him at all. He left out the part about the voices plaguing his dreams.

“Are you sure? because the team and I are always here to talk-“ Daichi started but was cut off by Tsukishima’s “No really I’m fine”. Daichi was a good captain. He always tried his best and cared for the team like a father. Though Tsukishima found it a little overbearing, he did have to acknowledge Daichi’s kindness. 

“If you’re sure then… I guess we’ll see you for practise next week then, right?” The captain asked, probably smiling. 

“Yes. Bye then,” Tsukishima replied and ended the call, placing his headphones back firmly where they should be.

After a short while longer of watching the world go by, he got up and straightened his coat before looping his book bag over his shoulder and leaving the park, this time definitely homebound. He’d spent far too long outside for his liking.

Upon looking up as he walked, Tsukishima noticed that the moon was visible in the crisp blue sky despite it being just past midday. He briefly allowed himself to wonder if the moon ever got bored of going through the same routine day in and day out, before mentally slapping himself. The moon wasn’t sentient. It was a giant lump of rock for crying out loud. And rock didn’t have feelings.

He adjusted his headphones to sit in a more comfortable position and yawned. What would he have for lunch? Hmm… he was sure he still had some instant noodles lying around. To be honest, when didn’t he have instant noodles?

———————

It wasn’t much later that Tsukishima reached his apartment, habitually calling out an unenthusiastic “I’m home” to the empty flat. He sat his shoes and bag by the door, hanging his coat on the rail. His life really was disastrously boring.

He slipped his headphones off and let them sit comfortably around his neck. Checking the calendar on his way to the kitchen, did indeed confirm that this coming Saturday was his parents’ moving day. They’d probably called Akiteru too. That would be fun, he thought sarcastically. How long had it been since he’d last seen his brother? Tsukishima couldn’t quite remember but it had definitely been a while. He boiled the kettle for his noodles, not really paying attention. This process was so familiar he would swear he could do it blindfolded. Whether that was something to be proud of or not was debatable.

He stood staring out the window for a short while until the impatient beeping of the kettle brought him back to reality. 

Stirring his now ready lunch, he wandered through to his room. The curtains were still closed. With a grumble, he sat the tub down and pulled them open. The crisp winter sunlight streamed into the room, brightening it considerably. 

The forecast was for snow. Tsukishima couldn’t really be bothered with snow, it was cold and got in the way; filling his shoes with slush and making the tips of his fingers ache. 

The rest of the afternoon passed fairly uneventfully. He watched a movie or two, checked various social media sites. The usual. Before Tsukishima even knew it, night had rolled around once more. The same days, repeating in a seemingly endless cycle. What he wouldn’t do for something interesting to come along and break them up. Something, not someone. He was perfectly happy in his solitude thanks very much.

He sneered at people like Hinata and Kageyama who had such a great need to constantly be in the company of another. He laughed at people like them who gave their all in their hobbies and relationships. He looked down his nose at those who wholeheartedly and completely trusted someone else with their innermost thoughts. No one should be able to trust someone that much. Betrayal will come along at some point. There’ll be fights or there’ll be someone better and then they can ruin you. Tsukishima’s philosophy was the best way to avoid that, keeping himself to himself. He didn’t need anyone else. 

Of course, he hadn’t always thought like this, but then he’d been betrayed. He’d felt the pain of being let down, and Tsukishima was utterly determined to never experience that kind of pain again. Maybe that was why he was such a sarcastic asshole to practically everyone. He sighed. 

After a short yet relaxing shower, he pulled on a loose t-shirt (one that happened to have a triceratops on the front. It was secretly his favourite, obviously because of comfort and not the design, duh) and some pyjama bottoms, he fell into bed for another night of tossing and turning. Removing his glasses and flicking off the lights, he resorted to waiting for slumber.

———————

“Ah.. you must have fallen asleep again…”

It sounded relieved, this new voice.

“Mm”

“You really mustn’t remember me… I only wish I could contact you some other way…”

“This is just a dream though… isn’t it?”

There was a dejected sigh.

“I guess I really won’t ever see y-you again. You never will come back.. t-to that place”

The words trembled, as if they’d been suspended in mid air and were now falling down to earth.

“I wonder why this is happening”

“What? Why what’s happening?”

“Why I’m hearing voices like this. Maybe I should google it”

“Google? What’s that? N-no no, It’s because…”

“Hm?”

“Gah.. I really do need to go..”

“Wait, you didn’t explain anything”

“There’s always tomorrow. We’ll speak again, Tsu- eh.. Friend”

“No, wait a minute”

The words faded as reality was dragged forth.

———————

Tsukishima awoke with a start. Ah. It was the start of another day.


	2. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsukki visits his old home for the last time, meets up with Akiteru for the first time in ages and someone else too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what this is anymore. And it's only chapter 2. Greaaaaaaaaaat. But this is where the proper story starts I guess? And I changed from calling Tsukki "Tsukishima" to calling him "Kei." This was because of Akiteru and they're both "Tsukishima" so it was just easier? I'm sorry if it's annoying XD
> 
> One last thing, I haven't proof read this as many times as I probably should've so my apologies in advance for any mistakes. And I'm sorry I took so long.

Before Kei really knew it, it was Saturday and he was on his way to his old home. It felt odd. He’d moved out at the first available opportunity and it had been forever since he’d seen the place.

The house itself was a charming old cottage nestled away in the countryside, far from literally everything; the building’s land even spanned into the nearby forest. As a result of this, Kei had spent much of his childhood in isolation. When thinking back, he remembered the vague outline of a friend; maybe it was a kid from school that he didn’t entirely hate. That must’ve been it. He was certain. They couldn’t have been important if he couldn’t remember anything about them right?

Despite the time of year, the weather was actually pretty mild. There was a chill in the air and sure, the ground was coated in a thin dusting of frost, but it wasn’t the kind of cold that made you fear you’d lose your fingers to frostbite. And there was most definitely no snow. 

Kei sat staring out of the train window as the world whizzed by, the grey sky blurring into the drab green of the fields and trees. It couldn’t be called pretty. No, it was too dull and there was no variety in colour, everything just bled together. There were no distinct shadows or highlights. 

Without noticing it, he’d begun to lean closer to the window; his breathe now fogging up the glass. At this realization, Kei quickly righted his posture and wiped the window with his sleeve as the monotone female voice announced the name of the station the train was currently pulling into.

Kei, realizing that this was his stop at almost the last moment, pushed up his glasses, gathered his things and hurried off the train. 

After a moment of regaining his composure, he scanned the faces of the station’s crowd for one he recognized. A mop of dirty blonde hair and a waving hand caught his eye. 

“Kei! My, how long has it been?” Akiteru smiled as he hurried over. He looked exhausted, what with the dark bags under his eyes, pasty complexion and the lack of the old sparkle in his eye. That new job must be running him ragged. 

“It has been a while...” Kei replied quietly with a small smile.

“You’ve gotten so tall! You’re well past me now, always did grow like a weed didn’t you?” Akiteru laughed and punched Kei ’s arm lightly. 

With a “hey!” of indignation from the younger, both brothers broke into a fit of snickers at the station. 

“The car’s this way” Akiteru grinned and led Kei towards the where he’d parked the thing. 

———————

Luckily, it didn’t take too long for them to get to their old home. Admittedly, the combination of Akiteru’s bad jokes, cringe-worthy anecdotes and the twisty country roads left Kei feeling nauseous and if they’d had to drive much further, he may have had to request they pull over. 

With wobbly steps, he climbed out the car, but caught his balance before Akiteru could notice, the fresh air working wonders.

“Tired? It’s pretty early in the morning for this if you ask me” Akiteru yawned and stretched, but Kei just shrugged.

“I’m used to getting up early so it doesn’t bother me, and it’s not even that early,” he pointed out as he pushed up his glasses.

“Of course, you were the freak kid weren’t you? You always woke up first. Y’know I remember that one time you woke everyone up at six on your birthday, was it your fifth? You were so excited and mum got so mad…” Akiteru mused through chuckles, turning the other way to avoid Kei’s stony death glare.

“And then there was the time that you-“ 

“Enough!” Kei almost yelled before clearing his throat and willing the slight redness of his face to fade. 

“I mean, Nii-chan please,” he mumbled, looking away and pushing up his glasses again.

“You still are my cute kid brother after all, I was scared you’d gone and grown up on me.” The shorter laughed heartily; he looked considerably more cheerful already.

“Please Nii-chan, there’s nothing cute about me anymore” Kei rolled his eyes, shooting Akiteru a condescending look, looming over him for effect. Score. He had height on his side this time round. 

“Alright, alright, I get it,” Akiteru held his hands up in a surrender before reaching up to flick Kei’s forehead and ruffle his short curly hair.

“Nii-chan!” Kei whined, internally slapping himself for sounding like a bratty child.

“Race ya!” Akiteru just laughed, slapping his back before rushing off down the driveway towards the inviting warmth of the house.

With a grumble, Kei jogged after him. 

“Hey! You got a head start”

His pace quickened just that little bit.  
———————

Kei’s parents were welcoming and glad to see their boys again as expected. There was a good half hour just spent catching up. He didn’t do much talking, what was there to talk about?

It was no surprise to find the hallways stacked to the ceiling with cardboard boxes. They felt out of place and made him uncomfortable. It was an odd protective feeling. This was his house still wasn’t it? Well it wouldn’t be for long. It probably shouldn’t have bothered him as much as it did.

The rest of the morning was spent packing things into boxes. 

“Hey look Kei! Here’s that art project you did when you were six, and we have all your old English notes from when you were fourteen here too wow what a trip down memory lane” Akiteru smiled, handing Kei the pile of papers.

“My handwriting was so messy… it looks awful” Kei shook his head as he scanned the pages with an expression of mild horror.

“Please, it’s neater than mine is now” The older brother shook his head in disbelief. 

“You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself” he finished with a chuckle and turned back to packing.

Kei just shrugged.

There was a sense of nostalgia in all this. He was finding all sorts of trinkets and knick-knacks he hadn’t even remembered owning. All his old toys and clothes that his parents hadn’t given away or gotten rid of. He even found his first pair of glasses, and Akiteru’s volleyball. 

The little details were comforting to say the least.

They continued on like that until Kei’s mother announced she’d made tea for an obligatory snack break; tea, which Kei accepted graciously. All this packing was tiring him out. 

He took a sip from the mug before making his way upstairs for one final visit to his old bedroom. There wasn’t much left in it by this point. What he’d felt he needed was back in his apartment and what he’d felt he hadn’t had either been given away or was in a box somewhere.

It felt empty. Lonely even. 

The walls were still the same colour and that tea stain on the carpet hadn’t moved, but there was no sense of “home” in it anymore. It didn’t feel like his room. It never would again.

He thought back to everything that had happened in this room. The fights with Akiteru, the games they’d played. The homework he’d struggled to complete on time and the days he’d spent bedridden from sickness. 

Memories of every type, happy, sad, nostalgic and embarrassing, were all filling his mind. Giving him a headache. 

But all that life was gone now, leaving only the hollow shell. 

Kei yawned and sat down on the bed, continuing to sip his tea. He noted that the curtains hadn’t changed either; they were still pale blue with a faded dark blue dinosaur pattern. The sight brought a small smile to his face. 

After reminiscing for a while and finishing his drink, he got to his feet with the intention of going to help the packing efforts.

He ran into Akiteru who’d just exited his old room too, obviously he’d been doing just the same thing. 

“I’m gonna miss this place…” Akiteru sighed and looked around, resting a hand affectionately against the wall, 

“You moved out years ago” Kei pointed out.

“Well yeah, but, I could always come back here to visit. When our parents move out, it cuts any ties we have with the place. It’s not ours anymore.” The elder brother explained; he wasn’t wrong, he did have a very good point.

Kei just swallowed letting his mouth hang open as if to speak yet no words came. He had no clue how to reply to that.

It was then that Akiteru shook his head and smiled again. “Never mind my pointless ramblings. Let’s go help finish filling the boxes”

 

———————

The afternoon passed by quickly; and with the whole family at work, the last of the packing was finally finished. 

Kei was starting to feel a little ill by this point and decided getting some fresh air might be a smart idea.

Just as he mentioned this and turned to take his leave, his mother spoke up from down the hall.  
“Kei dear, why don’t you go for a walk in those old woods you used to play in? It’s the last chance you’ll get” She called cheerily.

That wasn’t such a bad idea actually. It also gave him an excuse to be out longer than five minutes so he gladly took the opportunity.

Seeing as it was the middle of winter and late in the afternoon, the sky was beginning to darken as the sun slipped lower in the sky. Clouds streaked pink and orange across the fading blue, like paints spilled across a canvas. It was beautiful and undeniably calming.

The fresh air cleared his head and made him quickly feel better as he made his was across the field, thankful for his boots that didn’t let in the water.

It didn’t take him too long to reach the stile leading into the woods on the other side of the field, but even then the sky had grown much dimmer still. He could just about see the faint light of the first stars flickering amongst the blues and purples.

He hummed softly to himself as he climbed the stile with ease. When he’d been younger it had seemed much more interesting, the rotting wood and coat of moss made it look like the gateway to another world.

But now it just looked like it needed repaired. 

Without giving it much more thought, he turned and proceeded down the pathway. 

The shelter the trees’ admittedly empty branches gave still managed to block out what shreds of light shone and made the woods rather dark. Kei knew this route by heart however; it was something he’d never forgotten. 

The grass was crunchy with frost under his feet and there was a slight chill breeze, just enough to nip slightly at his ears. The place was silent. Peaceful. Almost perfect for a breather. Maybe it was just what he’d needed. 

Just as Kei was starting to feel a bit better about himself and life in general…

Thud.

One second he’d been strolling along without a care in the world, and the next he was on the ground clutching his head. Figures. 

Being tall was a curse, that tree branch had better not leave a bruise on his forehead. He’d never hear the end of it from the team when returning home if it did. At least his glasses weren’t broken. That would’ve been even worse.

He should’ve been paying more attention, honestly. 

Kei grumbled to himself as he slowly got to his feet again, head still in his hands.  
“U-um… Are you alright?” 

A slightly panicked voice had called out to him from behind one of the trees. A familiar voice. He’d heard it before but… Where?

It had been the one speaking to him during the latest dreams.

It had to be. He was sure of it. The same voice. Did that mean he hadn’t just been dreaming up crazy stuff? That someone real had actually been trying to communicate with him?

No, that was preposterous. Things like that didn’t happen. This wasn’t some dull fantasy novel, this was real life; and if there was one thing Tsukishima Kei knew, it was that this kind of thing didn’t happen in real life. 

Now he was just wondering how hard he’d hit his head. 

“D-did you hurt yourself again?”

There it was. The voice was continuing to speak. Wait a minute, again? Kei didn’t recall there being a first time. So that couldn’t be right.

He looked around, but he couldn’t see anyone, so he proceeded to continue massaging his sore head in an attempt to shoo away the headache threatening to return. 

“I suppose you wouldn’t remember. But it was when we first met. You were climbing that very tree and you fell out when the branch snapped under your weight” 

There was a hint of a laugh in the voice now. The speaker was still nowhere to be found. The voice itself spoke softly and gently with a hint of charisma. Kei didn’t think he’d mind listening to that voice talk to him some more.

That didn’t change the fact he had no memories of the events it described. 

“Hey uh, can you like, come out? All this talking to a faceless voice is kinda freaking me out. To prove I’m not crazy, I’d prefer to see whom it is I’m talking to” Kei sighed with a bored wave of his hand. 

“Alright then. How impatient of you.” The mystery speaker laughed and there was a rustling and the sound of footsteps from somewhere behind him.

Kei spun round as quickly as possible. What he was met with was not what he’d been expecting. 

Standing in front of him was a boy who looked roughly his own age. He had messy dark brown hair that reflected the spots of faint light that made it through the leafless tree branches. One stray lock on top of his head flicked up with no plans of flattening anytime soon. Gold eyes met sparkling murky green as Kei’s mouth hung open.

The boy had small antler-like horns that resembled tree bark sitting on top of his head draped with strings of tiny white flowers. His skin was spattered with freckles, at least what he could see of it was, and Kei could just about see the tips of slightly pointed ears poking from under locks of his hair. What even was he?

The boy looked nervous as he bit down on his lip and fiddled with the blue pendant hung round his neck and upon closer inspection, appeared to have a faint glow to it. He didn’t seem cold despite it being winter and the fact that he was wearing a thin white cotton shirt and dark shorts and no shoes.

Kei was speechless. Utterly speechless. He took a step backwards in fact.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen you… You’ve grown up a lot…” The boy’s voice wavered slightly as he smiled timidly.

As Kei stared, it was as if something had been lifted from his mind. Thoughts, feelings and memories flooded his head as everything came back to him. 

This boy, his name was Yamaguchi Tadashi. And he had been his best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I'm sorry. I really am. This is gonna end up just being a random fantasy type setting. Like... I'm not basing it off of anything or doing research? So if it sounds ridiculous that's because it came from my brain and actually is. >~

**Author's Note:**

> If you made it through this, I salute you. Here, have a cookie or something. I promise it'll get more interesting and I'll try to update this weekly, but forgive me if I mess up XD


End file.
